In large scale commercial plant-growing operations, it is known to utilize irrigation systems that distribute water to individual plants using a capillary mat. Water is typically supplied to the capillary mat by spray nozzles or perforated tubes that are spaced along the length of the capillary mat. These systems are well-suited to large-scale growing operations and to growing operations where the arrangement and placement of plants is infrequently changed, and large capital investments in infrastructure such as a water distribution system are easily justified.
In small scale plant growing operations, investment in a water distribution system is often difficult to justify, leading to the use of manual labor to water plants. In such situations, it would be desirable to have an inexpensive irrigation apparatus that reduced the required irrigation frequency, thereby decreasing labor costs.
In retail plant sales environments, displays of merchandise are dynamic, due to the demands of fluctuating inventories, changes in the configurations of displays and due to changes in the particular types of plants being sold at a given point in the season. Thus, it would be desirable to have an irrigation apparatus that is modular in nature, so that it can be readily reconfigured, repositioned and repurposed. It is also desirable to reduce the required irrigation frequency in retail plant sales environments.